Obama Tells '60 Minutes': Election Losses Resulted From Messaging Problem

In excerpts released Friday from an upcoming interview with "60 Minutes," President Obama says that Tuesday's Democratic loses were the result of a messaging problem: "it's a matter of persuading people."

Here's how CBS describes the interview: "President Obama tells '60 Minutes' correspondent Steve Kroft that one of the reasons the electorate has become disenchanted with him was his failure to properly explain his policies and persuade people to agree with them."

When asked whether he had lost his "mojo," Obama responded:

"You know, I think that over the course of two years we were so busy and so focused on getting a bunch of stuff done that we stopped paying attention to the fact that leadership isn’t just legislation. That it's a matter of persuading people. And giving them confidence and bringing them together. And setting a tone. And making an argument that people can understand. And I think that we haven’t always been successful at that," Obama replied.

"And I take personal responsibility for that. And it's something that I've got to examine carefully as I go forward. You know, now I will say that when it comes to some of my supporters, some of my Democratic supporters who express some frustration," the president added.

(via Politico)

In response to similar statements throughout the week by the president and others, soon-to-be Speaker of the House John Boehner said that Democrats are in "denial":